Author Archives: Ethan Wilson

#3838: Savage Storm & Colossus Mutant Dino

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SAVAGE STORM & COLOSSUS MUTANT DINO

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“The weather goddess, Storm is always ready to stir up the elements. With the weather at her every command, Storm can summon a bolt of lightning, call forth a tornado or even fly on powerful winds she controls. Storm helps lead the X-Men into battle with the help of a native of the Savage Land, a Triceratops’ devastating head ramming action, Storm is unstoppable.”

We’ve once more kicked off the day with a quick look back at one of my earlier Toy Biz Marvel reviews, and I intend to keep that particular train running, specifically with a focus on those particularly savage variants of the X-Men. Today, we continue last week’s venture into the heavy hitters side of the line-up, with Storm!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Storm and Colossus Mutant Dino are the fourth of the five sets in the “Savage Land” deluxe assortment of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, released in 1997. I’ve mentioned before that this line sort of pairs off with the “Space Riders” set, and this really calls to that, because Storm’s easily the biggest name *not* included in that set, allowing her to take the focus here.

As perhaps the only X-Man included here who wasn’t “going through some stuff” in terms of her appearance in the mid-90s, Storm winds up being perhaps the most evergreen of these figures, barring Ka-Zar. Her design here calls back to a few of her more “casual” looks from the ’70s and ’80s. The figure is about 5 inches tall and she has 7 points of articulation. No movement on the elbows or knees, but she does at least get a disc and peg assembly on the shoulders, which gives her some better range. She’s got what appears to be a wholly unique sculpt. It’s not a bad one, but, on my copy at least, her hair is all just pegged in place, not properly glued, so it all falls out a lot. The main outfit is removable, showing off a sort of a bathing suit get up, if for some reason that’s the approach you want to take. Personally, I prefer the whole assembly. The color work here isn’t bad. Very much sticks to her usual sorts of colors, but she does also get a little bit of tribal style painting, much like Ka-Zar.

Storm gets no accessories of her own, but does get a dino buddy, who is a triceratops named Colossus. Why is he named Colossus, the name of a member of the X-Men? Did Colossus get turned into a triceratops? Or did Storm just miss her pal and name something after him? The bio has nothing to say about that, which feels like a missed opportunity. It’s a pretty fun little toy, at least. He’s got basic movement, and a little ramming feature that extends his head. He’s also got metal banding on his limbs, which supports the “mutated Colossus” bit, but then also could be why she named him after her pal? It’s still inconclusive. Well, I got a cool triceratops toy either way.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This isn’t one of the original sets I got from this line-up, but it was one that always fascinated me, especially the bit with Colossus. When I found the lot that got me Ka-Zar, I was honestly pretty happy this one was in there too. It’s a neat concept, and while I have some slight assembly issues with the main Storm figure, I think it’s an overall better package than the Wolverine set.

Flashback Figure Addendum #0024: Nightcrawler

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

NIGHTCRAWLER

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Let’s keep this non-Friday Addendum’s game running!  Time to update some more Toy Biz X-Men.  This time, it’s Nightcrawler!

“Nightcrawler is the X-man with the most amazing mutant ability – teleportation! Nightcrawler can instantaneously move himself to a spot up to three miles away in the blink of an eye. Nightcrawler is also an excellent acrobat. He can crawl up almost any surface. His amazing tail is almost like a third arm… not only can Nightcrawler hang from it, he can make it hold and use weapons ranging from swords to ray blasters!” The first assortment of Toy Biz’s long-running X-Men line is a veritable who’s who of heavy hitters from the franchise. It’s before they’d committed to going deep into the mythos the way later assortments the way they did later. Included amongst those figures was fan-favorite Nightcrawler. Interestingly enough, Nightcrawler wasn’t actually with the team at that point, having moved onto Excalibur in the mean time. Nevertheless, they were going for more of greatest hits thing, so in the line he went.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightcrawler was, as noted in the intro, part of the first series of X-Men figures. He was also re-released a bit later, during the “repaints” portion of Series 3, but unlike others in that sub-set, he was essentially unchanged. The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation. Fun fact: when the prototypes for this series were first developed, the original plan was for all figures in the assortment except Nightcrawler to have the basic 5 POA. That changed (mostly anyway), but it’s nice that they always planned to give Nightcrawler actual articulation. His sculpt is the strongest of the Series 1 figures (rivaled only by Magneto for that title), and has aged far better than others. He’s not as limited in movement as Storm, nor is he as rudimentary in design as Cyclops. He’s actually just a pretty darn faithful recreation of the character’s ’80s design. The only slight marring of the sculpt are the two suction cups mounted on his left hand and right thigh. They’re super obvious, rather goofy looking, and not particularly effective. I actually ended up prying them off of one of my two Nightcrawler figures, which improves his look a bit, though he’s still got the visible pegs. Why they added these things kind of baffles me, since it mars an otherwise quite strong sculpt. Nightcrawler’s paintwork is decent enough, being mostly pretty basic work. It matches the others in the assortment, and his comics appearances as well. Nightcrawler was originally packed with a cutlass, which both of my figures are, sadly, missing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got my first Nightcrawler from a flea market near my house. He was my go-to version of the character for a long time. And then I packed up a bunch of my figures like some stupid baby, and this guy got put in the box that ended up buried in the back of the garage, so he was missing for about 5 years. In the mean time, I had tracked down a replacement. Now I have both, and I couldn’t be happier, because, as I noted, he was my go-to. I think he’s still my favorite Toy Biz version of the character. 

This review hails from the summer of 2018.  As Toys R Us closed down and All Time Toys recovered from the second flood to shut them down in the space of less than two years, I was admittedly a little down on things and looking for something comforting, so I started pushing back into reviewing the Toy Biz figures again.  It’s my comfort thing.  The Nightcrawler review’s pretty solid.  I didn’t note, though, that there are actually two styles of tail: a thinner, harder plastic version, and a thicker, more rubbery one.  My original (which is now sans suction cups) was the thinner tail, and the replacement was the thicker.  Missing from the original review was the figure’s cutlass, which I finally managed to snag.  It’s small and a bit warped, but pretty fun. 

#3837: Hoth Chewbacca

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

HOTH CHEWBACCA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (HASBRO)

“Chewbacca, like all members of the Wookiee species, was indigenous to the jungle planet of Kashyyyk. Honorable, intelligent, and friendly, though fierce and dangerous when angered, Wookiees were a proud species who once made contributions to the Galactic Republic. Wookiee senators represented Kashyyyk in the Galactic Senate. Their respectable position changed, however, when the Imperials seized power and began enslaving the extraordinarily strong Wookiees as laborers. In Chewbacca’s case, he escaped slavery and death with the help of a young officer by the name of Han Solo, who destroyed his military career to save the innocent Wookiee. A life debt was established, and Chewbacca joined Han in his adventures through the galaxy. Later on, the duo played significant roles in the Rebel victory over the Empire, and the Wookiee species was restored to its position of honor in the galaxy.”

One of the sets of Power of the Force figures I’m slowly working my way through is the Flashback figures, the sort of odd promotional set for the pending Episode I figures that were yet to be.  They did, if nothing else, give a decent opportunity to re-release some heavy hitters, though some of the flashback connections were…a bit of a stretch.  Obviously, not everyone had a direct equivalent in Episode I, but for Chewbacca here, the equivalent was…a Wookie Senator? Do you guys remember the Wookie Senator?  Because I don’t.  He didn’t even get his *own* figure.  Well, here’s Chewy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hoth Chewbacca was released in the 1998 assortment of “Flashback Photo” Power of the Force figures.  He was the third version of Chewy in the main line, and completed the set-up of one per movie, being specifically based on Empire, the only one not covered up to that point.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation…sort of.  As with all the Chewbaccas in the line, he’s got a neck joint, but it doesn’t really do much.  Otherwise, it’s pretty normal stuff for the line.  His sculpt is similar to the other two Chewbaccas from the same year, which was notably a departure from the earlier, far more buff version of the character.  It’s not spot-on, but it’s a more accurate build at least.  His paint work is what makes him officially a “Hoth” figure; he’s got a bunch of white detailing painted over top of everything else, so he looks like he’s been out in the snow.  It works okay.  It’s at least different, right?  Sure, let’s go with that.  Chewy is packed with his bowcaster, which is the same piece used with the others in the line.  He also gets the flashback photo, which shows the earlier mentioned Wookie Senator.  Wooooo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hoth Chewbacca has the distinction of being the last Flashback Photo figure I needed for my collection (though he’s not the last one I need to review; I’ll get on that, I swear!), which is honestly kind of silly, because he’s hardly a rare figure.  I just happened to not get him for a while, and then when I had all the others, he wasn’t immediately in front of me.  But, then he was, so I guess that was nice.  He’s okay.  Very specific, but honestly, that’s not such a bad thing.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3836: Ultra Dad

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ULTRA DAD — ULTRAMAN: RISING

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

I feel like every time I review an Ultraman, I remark that I don’t review Ultraman stuff enough.  And, seeing as it’s been seven months since my last review, I suppose it still holds true.  When last I spoke of Ultramen, I talked a bit about Ultraman: Rising, Netflix’s animated Ultraman movie from last summer.  This builds a bit on that.  The central theme of the movie is parenthood, with the main character’s respective relationships with his adoptive “daughter” Emi and his own father playing parallel with each other.  One of the film’s neat surprise twists is the reveal that Ken’s father, the previous holder of the Ultra mantle, can still harness the abilities, granting him a modified version of the classic design, affectionately dubbed “Ultra Dad.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultra Dad is a 2025 online-exclusive S.H. Figuarts release, designed to follow-up on the main Ultraman release for the film from last year.  The figure stands about 4 3/4 inches and he has 38 points of articulation.  Ultra Dad’s articulation scheme is pretty much what you’d expect from a Figuarts release at this point.  The range of motion is all pretty solid, especially given his smaller stature.  Speaking of smaller stature, this guy’s an inch and a half shorter than the main Ultraman, which is a bit surprising when you see it, but also accurate to the depictions of the characters in the movie.  He’s got a new sculpt, and it’s a solid, clean recreation of Hayao’s Ultra Dad design from the movie.  Like Ken, it’s very stylized, and in a way that lines up very well with the Ken figure from last year.  Ultra Dad’s color work is likewise a good match for the prior figure.  The silver is a little on the flat side compared to the film’s very reflective take, but it ultimately works okay.  I do really like the extra shiny finish on the red sections.  The only slight downside is that the ankles, wrists, and knees are more of a flat grey, which doesn’t quite match.  Ultra Dad is packed with three different eye plates, 13 different hands (L and R fists, L and R relaxed, L and R open gesture, L and R open-er gesture, L and R powered up, L and R flat, and a left flat that’s different than the pair?), two different color timers, and an extra effect piece hand meant to go with the prior Ken figure.  Generally, it’s decent spread, covering most of the bases.  The one issue I did run into with this one is that his outer faceplate doesn’t sit as securely as it did on the Ken figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Given how much I enjoyed Rising, I’ve been really on board for all of the figure coverage too.  When this look showed up in the movie, I immediately wanted a figure of it.  I was very happy to see it get announced so quickly after the fact.  He’s certainly a fun figure.  He’s not as much his own standalone piece as he is an accent piece for the main Ultraman release, but that’s what I wanted him to be, so that works out well for me.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3835: Kirby

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

KIRBY

EASTMAN & LAIRD’S TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (NECA)

It’s a rare occasion that I get to review a figure of a creator of all the cool things I love and frequently buy in action figure form.  Thus far, I’ve reviewed three of them, those being George Lucas, James Cameron, and Stan Lee.  Stan in particular is one of the major architects of the Marvel universe, but he was aided in that by a couple of prominent artists, chief amongst them Jack “The King” Kirby.  Jack’s legal troubles with Marvel mean he hasn’t been graced with a Marvel Legend the way Stan has.  While the Marvel venue doesn’t have anything, Jack had a huge influence on the larger comics creator community, and that’s lead to a lot of references and homages.  During some of Jack’s legal battles, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird offered up support in the form of “Kirby and the Warp Crystal,” a Donatello-led TMNT special where Don teams up with comic artist “Kirby,” who bears the likeness of Jack.  NECA took advantage of this story to add Kirby to their line of comic-based TMNT figures, so we have a sort of Jack Kirby figure!  Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kirby is part of NECA’s Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of Mirage Comics-based figures.  He was first offered up at Target as part of one of their Haulathon events last year, I think?  I don’t know, they all blend together and I feel like there’s like 15 of them every year.  Anyway, the figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  In terms of scaling, he’s obviously meant to go with the 7-inch TMNT line from NECA, but given his smaller stature, he winds up about the same size, so you could fudge him in with your Marvel Legends if you were so inclined.  It makes him a little taller than Stan, but I feel like Jack honestly might have gotten a kick out of that.  Kirby’s sculpt shares a lot of its parts with the Mirage Baxter Stockman figure, but gets a new head, as well as new forearms with rolled up sleeves (because how else is he gonna properly beat the snot out of some no good Nazi punks?).  The head sculpt is a slightly stylized and cartoony take on Jack Kirby’s likeness, though certainly more of a proper likeness than the original comics appearance (and it’s even an officially backed license, courtesy of the Rosalind Kirby Trust), and certainly captures the spirit Kirby, albeit in a more wider line appropriate styling.  The paint work on Kirby is meant to emulate comic book line-work, so there’s a bit of outlining and crosshatching, which honestly works better in-person than I expected it too.  Beyond that, the colors are pretty bright, clean, and eye-catching.  Kirby was packed with five hands (in fists, standard gripping, and a right hand for holding a pencil), a pencil with the Warp Crystal attached, his sketchbook, the gauntlet he designed for Donnie, and a figurine of one of his creations.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been wanting a Jack Kirby figure since I got the Legends Stan Lee back in 2020.  Obviously, the Marvel angle was a long-shot, so this was kind of a nice surprise.  He was not the easiest figure to get when he dropped, at least in my area.  I’ve been on the lookout for one for a bit, but then one kind of snuck up on me, and a used one came in at work, which made the whole thing a lot easier, I suppose.  He’s fun.  Not the same style as Stan by any stretch, and I certainly still wouldn’t say no to a proper Legends figure, but this one’s still really, really cool.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3834: Lobo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

LOBO

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

“Lobo is crude, rude and nearly impossible to kill. The super-tough bounty hunter wanders the cosmos on his space bike, flying from one assignment to another, with plenty of pit stops at local alien bars along the way!”

When I find myself in times of trouble, Todd McFarlane comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, “Super Powers”…. No?  Not working for you guys?  Yeah, I was iffy on it myself.  But, I decided to go with it, and here we are.  Congrats on getting here with me.  Today’s Super Powers focus goes a bit more modern…sort of.  Well, post-original run…sort of.  It’s a bit of a wibbly-wobbly thing.  See, it’s Lobo, who, in the form most people know, didn’t exist until the end of the ’80s.  But, he was introduced, albeit in a rather different form, in 1983.  So, you know, there’s something there, I guess.  Anyway, here’s Lobo.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lobo is the final of the “standard” release figures from Series 10 of McFarlane’s Super Powers.  He’s another new character for the style, and honestly, on the rather short list of proper Lobo figures.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  First and foremost, this figure is *huge*.  Like, the largest Super Powers figure thus far.  Lobo is traditionally a larger character, but not usually to this level.  I mean, he towers over Darkseid.  That feels a bit off.  But, hardly terrible.  Lobo re-uses the torso from Kilowog, along with an all-new head, arms, and legs.  It’s not a bad sculpt, and it certainly looks the part, but it doesn’t really feel like it matches the usual Super Powers aesthetic.  So, he sort of just exists a bit as his own thing.  I don’t hate it, but it’s different.  The vest is cloth, which is a nifty touch, and is the one thing that definitely feels like it’s trying for the Super Powers aesthetic.  Lobo’s color work is respectable enough.  He’s definitely got some DCAU vibes on the palette, which I definitely don’t mind.  The paint application’s basic and clean, and does generally what it needs to. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been a *huge* Lobo fan.  To date, the only figure I’ve ever owned of him was the Minimate, and that was largely because he came with Ambush Bug.  I do like his DCAU appearances well enough, so I don’t hate him outright.  I wasn’t sure I was gonna get this guy when he was announced, because he doesn’t quite feel like he fits the general vibe of the line.  But, I ultimately decided I’d rather get him and not potentially regret missing him later.  He’s decidedly a different vibe than the rest of the line, but I think it works okay, and he’s still a very fun figure.

#3833: Savage Wolverine & Crawler-Rex

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SAVAGE WOLVERINE & CRAWLER-REX

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“The X-Men find themselves mysteriously transported to the Savage Land a prehistoric tropical jungle in the middle of the Arctic circle! With the help of their friend and leader of the Savage Land, Ka-Zar, the X-Men weave their way through this treacherous land. Aided by dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, Storm, Wolverine, Angel and Joseph have their hands full throughout their dangerous journey.

More animal than man, the savage Wolverine finds himself right at home in the Savage Land. Wielding bone claws and a feral, animal-like instinct, Wolverine slashes his way through trouble. A fierce fighter, Wolverine finds himself a prehistoric partner to match his toughness. The Crawler Rex’s jaw-chomping action together with Wolverine’s fighting skills make the two of them one ferocious team.”

Okay, we had a brief run-back to some old Toy Biz, and now we’re back at…some old Toy Biz.  Keeping the theme from last week’s main review, I’m plunging deep into the depths of the Savage Land!  In addition to Ka-Zar, there were also a bunch of regular rank-and-file X-Men with special X-tra “Savage” gear.  And, since you can’t very well do *anything* with the X-Men without Wolverine, here he is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Savage Wolverine and Crawler-Rex are the third of the five “Savage Land” sets released in Toy Biz’s X-Men line in 1997.  As with all the other sets in the line, it pairs off the main figure with a larger creature.

Savage Wolverine admittedly takes things to a further departure than the other two X-Men in the line-up, because it’s dialing into a very specific era of Wolverine, following the removal of his adamantium and then the subsequent secondary mutation that made him more feral, and also cost him his nose.  It was surprisingly scarce in toy form; Toy Biz just did this one and the Onslaught series release.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  While he doesn’t actually share any direct tooling with Wolverine Unleashed (as he’s actually in scale with the main line, more or less, rather than towering over them like all the others), the general aesthetics are very similar, as is the posing, suggesting they may have started from a common point.  It’s incredibly exaggerated and silly looking, but that’s honestly, pretty much on point for this era of Wolverine.  The color work is fine enough; I do quite like the accenting on the bone armor parts in particular.  Wolverine is without any actually accessories for himself, instead relying on his creature buddy.

Said creature buddy is Crawler-Rex.  While Angel and Ka-Zar both got an actual established character for their pack-in creature, Wolverine instead just gets a rather generic dinosaur…thing.  It’s supposed to be a T-rex sort of thing, I guess, but it’s certainly more on the cartoony side of things.  That head’s super large, which is some what comical looking, and he’s got an action feature where his jaw chomps…which doesn’t make him look any less comical, to be honest.  His color work is honestly pretty fun.  Still sort of goofy, but that’s hardly a problem.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I recall seeing this one back when the sets were new, but by 1997, I was rather Wolverine-d out, even for one that was, admittedly, pretty unique.  Now that I’m in the midst of trying to actually finish out the Toy Biz run, obviously, I can’t very well get Wolverine-d out, now can I?  I was a tiny bit bummed this figure wasn’t in the haul that brought the Day of the Wolverines upon us, but I ultimately got him very recently, when in the midst of searching for a Ka-Zar set, I found a lot with all the sets I was missing.  This one’s okay, but perhaps not quite as fun as the others in the assortment.  Still, it’s got that good goofy vibe I love.

Flashback Figure Addendum #0023: Rogue

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

ROGUE

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Gonna go back to the Addedums even when it’s not a Friday!  Why, because, for right now at least, the Figure Addendums are a sub-feature of my Marvel Monday’s, that’s why!  Today, though, it’s first Addendum for this item, rather than being the second, and sending us all into some sort of crazy world.  Let’s jump back to 2017 for a follow-up look at Rogue!

Another non-newest series of X-Men Marvel Legends X-Men figure? Does this mean Ethan’s still looking for that freaking Cyclops figure? No, actually. Ethan found that freaking Cyclops figure yesterday afternoon. He was very excited about that freaking Cyclops figure. But, he also needs some time to properly appreciate those figures before jumping into the reviews. Still, X-Men on the brain and all that, so let’s take a look at the back catalogue again. We’re going even further back this time, and pulling out one of the old Toy Biz 5-inch figures. Let’s look at Rogue!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rogue was released in Series 6 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, and was by far the most popular figure in the series. She was actually quite rare for some time, but was eventually re-released as part of the KB Toys-exclusive Marvel Universe line. The two figures are more or less identical. I think mine may actually be the re-release, since the timelines line up best that way. The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation. The articulation count is a bit lower than other figures TB was producing at the time, mostly due to the upper cut action feature on her left arm, which removes the neck movement (to allow for the lever that activates the feature) and the left elbow movement. It also limits the left shoulder a bit. Not really sure why they opted to go for such an intrusive feature. Rogue sported an all-new sculpt (which would later be re-used for Polaris). It’s fairly standard for the time. Nothing super amazing, but it’s a decent enough recreation of her Jim Lee look. Her proportions are a bit weird; her hairs is really small, and her legs seem to make up a larger portion of her body than they should. She’s also a bit on the boxy side. But, like I said, fairly standard for the time, so I can’t judge it too harshly. Missing from my figure is her add-on belt, which replicated her wacky asymmetrical thing from the comics. Yay for asymmetry! Rogue’s paint work is decent enough. Everything is applied pretty cleanly and all of the important details are there. I will say I’ve always found this figure’s color palette to be a bit washed out and dull. I guess the cartoon and future figures just have made me expect this costume to be a bit warmer. Rogue included no accessories, not even the weird ‘90s blaster thing that Toy Biz seemed to give to all of the other figures who they couldn’t think of anything better to give to. Alas, I suppose she’ll just have to steal one from one of the other figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rogue was one of the last “main X-Men” I got when I was growing up. Most of the others had seen one or two re-releases, so getting them wasn’t too prohibitive. I actually ended up getting the 10-inch version of her first. Ultimately, I’m pretty sure I ended up with the Universe re-release when it hit. I think she was a Christmas present from my parents if I’m not mistaken, likely from our first Christmas in the house I spent most of my childhood in. She may not be the best Rogue figure I own, or even the first Rogue figure I owned, but I was really happy to get her when she was new.

This review is from the period of time when I was actively hunting for the Warlock Series of Marvel Legends in the spring of 2017.  I had just found the Jim Lee Cyclops, who was the last figure I needed in the set, so I was very excited, and very definitely in an X-Men review.  This was also while I was living several states away from most of my collection, so Rogue here was actually reviewed remotely.  I don’t really do that sort of thing anymore.  Since this review, I did manage to find a belt for her, finally completing her whole look.  It’s a minor touch, but it adds a lot.  In the process, I also got a whole variant to this figure!  There are actually four *different* versions of the original Rogue figure, all concerning the color of her eyes, how many lashes she has, and whether or not she has eyeshadow.  My original is the light green eyes with four lashes and no eyeshadow version, but the one that I bought to get the replacement belt is the dark green eyes with four lashes as eyeshadow version.  I don’t know if I’ll be going to the trouble of getting the two three-lash versions, so I’m counting this as complete for now!

#3832: Bantha & Tusken Raider

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

BANTHA & TUSKEN RAIDER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

I’ve had a surprisingly low count of Tusken Raider-related reviews here.  Just the two of them, it looks like.  Huh.  Well, I guess I never had a crazy attachment to them before they’re much more positive focus in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett, which actually gave them a culture beyond “crazy nomad beast men only there to antagonize the good guys.”  The Tusken Raiders were honestly kind of sparse early on in the toy coverage.  There was one during the vintage run, and then a single release during Power of the Force, which was finally joined by a second, deluxe release with a creature.  So, let’s look at that second one today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Bantha and the Tusken Raider were released in 1998 as part of the larger “creature” sub-set of Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force.  ’98 broke the mold a bit and did slightly larger creatures at a higher price-point, giving us both the Bantha and the previously reviewed Rancor.  This one’s not *quite* as large as the Rancor, but he does some other things to justify the higher price.

This was, I believe, the first Bantha figure, which is pretty nifty.  It’s quite sizable (and generally seems to be pretty well scaled to the line), but notably not crazy poseable.  You can move the neck, but that’s about it.  Otherwise, he’s just a big, solid chonk.  Not a big solid chonk of plastic, mind you, because they went the extra mile and give this guy an actual fur main.  It’s…well, there’s certainly a lot of it.  And it’s just begging to get all gross.  Which, I suppose, would probably be accurate to the real thing, I guess.  It’s certainly a unique look for the piece, and undoubtedly sells the Bantha look.  Under all the hair, there’s a largely rudimentary sculpt, but there are also enough visible details to keep him fairly interesting to look at.  He includes a plastic harness piece, which clips over top of it all, and sort of holds the hair in place a bit, as well as giving the included Tusken Raider figure a place to sit.

Said included Tusken Raider was the second for the line.  He’s pretty different from the single release.  Obviously, based on the same general look, but the approach has changed.  The figure’s still about 3 3/4 inches tall, but now there are 10 points of articulation.  This one adds both knee joints and thigh swivels, so as to aid in more properly sitting on the bantha.  Likewise, the lower portion of the robes are now cloth, so that sitting is actually possible.  The sculpt is also just a bit sharper, and better defined than the original, generally making for a better overall figure.  He includes the usual Gadaffi Stick, which he holds pretty nicely in his left hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The creature sets largely passed me by as a kid.  This one’s been on my list for a bit, but the later run creatures aren’t as plentiful.  Thankfully, I was patient, and one landed in front of me at work.  It was boxed, but not sealed, so pricing was in my favor, and also it wasn’t gross, so that was in my favor too.  The Bantha certainly makes an impression on the shelf, and the included Raider is pretty solid too, so it’s kind of an all around win.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3831: Superman – Classic Animation (1940)

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SUPERMAN — CLASSIC ANIMATION (1940)

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

Back to DC?  So soon?  Well, I regret to inform you that it’s *not* Super Powers today.  But, I do think it’s still pretty cool, and it concerns one of my other areas of interest, animation!  I’ve touched only briefly on Fleischer Studios here on the site.  They were a pioneer in the field of animation, rivaling Disney during the golden age, and in many ways beating them to the punch on a lot of things.  They had a great deal of success with their in-house properties, but also got into the adaptation game in 1933, when they began a run of shorts starring Popeye.  In 1941, their main financial backer Paramount had purchased the rights to Superman, and proposed a series of animated theatrical shorts.  Not initially wanting to take on the gig, Fleischer asked for an insane $100,000 a short, but when Paramount countered at $50,000, they accepted.  The result was not only one of the finest pieces of animation to come out of the golden age, but also an incredibly influential take on the title character, inspiring the likes of Alex Ross and Bruce Timm, as well as adding the power of flight to the character’s roster of abilities.  The rights for the shorts have been all over the place, and they ultimately went into the public domain back in the ’60s. Toy coverage for the shorts has been generally scarce. Mezco did a 5Points set a few years ago, and there was a statue from DC Direct. It’s McFarlane that finally gave us some figure coverage, first as a Super Powers redeco, and now as a proper 7-inch figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman is a standard-sized release from McFarlane’s DC Multiverse line.  He’s not a single, instead being rolled into a larger assortment with a couple of unrelated characters.  Though referred to by *everyone* as “Fleischer Superman,” he’s officially titled “Classic Animation (1940),” with no specific studio mention.  In a way, this actually makes him more accurate than you might think, as only 9 of the 17 shorts were actually produced by Fleischer, with the other 8 being done by their successors at Famous Studios after Fleischer dissolved.  On the flipside, though, it specifies 1940, when the cartoons didn’t start their run until 1940.  Also, all the illustrations are specifically comic-based, so the whole thing is likely some sort of legal thing.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  Superman is built on the Earth-2 Superman mold from the Crisis set.  He was originally shown on the Action Comics #1000 mold, which isn’t great, but Todd actually listened to fan feedback and moved him to the more recent set-up.  I gotta say, I really like it.  It’s quite clean and the proportions are pretty well balanced.  It also especially works for this era of the character.  He gets a new head sculpt, which is quite solid.  It’s a good match for the animation, not being too simple or too detailed, and it sits really well on the body.  He gets a cloth cape, which is fairly similar to the one on the Reeve Superman.  It’s a solid work, and the wires are quite strong, which is great for posing.  His color work does a pretty respectable job matching up to the colors from the cartoons.  The paint’s a bit minimal, but it does what it needs to.  I particularly like the squinty eyes.  Superman is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and flat, as well as a display stand and a card with decidedly not Fleischer Superman on it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a huge Fleischer fan, because, as noted above, I’m something of an animation geek.  The Superman cartoons are really their finest work, and remain favorites of mine.  I almost went for the Mezco figures, but they were out of my price range at the time they jumped.  I got the Super Powers figure, and he’s fine, but not really on the mark.  This one was one I knew I wanted immediately.  He’s genuinely the best Superman McFarlane’s put on the market, though that’s admittedly a more loaded statement than it used to be, because suddenly they figured out to make a Superman right before the end?  I don’t know, but I’m loving it.